With over 18 million views, this video features Mr. Andy from Headspace teaching Sesame Street's Elmo a simple guided relaxation. Elmo is having a tough time settling down for bedtime but this clever video demonstrates how Yoga help even Elmo! Perfect to share with...
OM is a letter and a word. It is also a sound or resonance. There are three sounds in OM, known as “matra” (vowel diacritics): ‘a,’ ‘u,’ and ‘m.’ When ‘a’ and ‘u’ merge, they form ‘o,’ and when ‘m’ is placed alongside ‘o,’ it forms OM. Thus, all sounds of all...
Yoga Nidra is yogic sleep. But, it’s a sort of sleepless sleep. You are awake and at the same time you are sleeping. The scriptures call it “jagrat sushupti,” awakened sleep. You sleep, but you don’t sleep. During regular sleep, you sleep but you don’t know that...
The month of September contains two of the most important holy days in the Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah begins a 10 day period of introspection and repentance that culminates in Yom Kippur, known as the Day of Atonement. These holy...
It is a tradition in Integral Yoga that after daily meditation we repeat Shanti mantras, or peace prayers. These prayers are a beautiful way to end one’s formal meditation sitting and are a spiritual support in that they are affirmations of peace. The Yoga tradition...
There are so many methods of meditation and Trataka meditation is among them. Even though you might have an image in your mind of what meditation is, there are actually so many ways to meditate. You can try out all the different types to see what works best for you....
In this episode, host Avi Gordon (director of the Integral Yoga Teachers Association) and his guest, Swami Asokananda, talk about how each works with self-judgment, resistances to daily sadhana (spiritual practice), pratipaksha bhavana, and other topics regarding...
In Traditional Chinese Medicine it is understood that our lungs are a delicate entry point connecting us to the outside world. One of its functions is dispersing and spreading defensive or protective (wei) qi. This subcategory of qi lies just under our skin and...
We should all remember that a main aim of Yoga practice is self-mastery. When we follow the Yoga precepts and practices this leads to more self-mastery—the body and mind become more relaxed and sattvic so we can more easily recognize and abide in our True Nature....
The word pranayama is not a single word but rather a combination of two Sanskrit words: prana and ayama. Prana could be translated as vital energy or the cosmic energy that causes any kind of movement. Even the movement of the electrons around the nucleus within an...
I don’t know about you, but the spirit of sacrifice and service has never come easy for me. In the early days of my spiritual journey, due to my self-absorption in “taking care of Number 1,” I used to cringe whenever Swami Satchidananda (Gurudev) talked about Karma...
Curious Poses: 30 Yoga Postures and the Stories They Tell by Lucy Greeves introduces readers to the monks and maharajas, gods and gymnasts who shaped Hatha Yoga as we know it. Have you ever wondered why Yoga postures look the way they do, or how they got their names?...
Integral Yoga teacher Zac Parker leads a short meditative and relaxing experience that you can do to begin or end your day. It's also the perfect length to take a moment out of a stressful day or utilize during a work break, to drop into essence-nature and the peace...
As someone who enjoys crafting, the advertisement for the “Original Magic Mat” (a die-cutting crafting aid), suddenly took on an entirely new meaning after experiencing Yoga teacher training. I’ve seen this ad before, but I’ve never thought about anything more than...
Saci Murphy, E-RYT 500 will lead a weekend workshop (July 28-30, 2023) that includes the practice of the elements of Integral Yoga Hatha. Hatha Yoga transforms the physical body—our tool for all our goals, activities, and endeavors—by optimizing function and...
Independence implies a freedom from being controlled or unduly influenced by an outside source. Spiritual independence suggests the freedom to live in harmony with the spiritual truth at the heart of our being. It implies freedom from depending on any outside source...